A Boy's Guide to Track and Field

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Wry, poignant and inventive - this is a story about a boy, and a young man, who feels lost in this uncertain world and is struggling to find his way. Lem Gulliver (25, maths teacher), can't seem to leave home. His mother (46, courtroom artist) and step-father (49, AA patrol man), make no secret of the fact that he's become a cuckoo in the nest but since his girlfriend left him for a dog trainer, Lem has returned to his natural state of emotional drift. He can't understand how the people around him manage the plot of a grown-up life. A Boy's Guide to Track and Field starts at Walthamstow and travels southbound towards Brixton; the reader is swept along with Lem in a review of the past which gradually accelerates into the present.

Reviews

Countless modern novels tackle the breakdown of previously equal relationships between men and women following the arrival of children, but few do it with the sparkle and perception of Broadbent * Guardian *
This stunning debut... is not to be missed... very funny, absorbing and moving, this comes highly recommended * Good Book Guide *
Peppered with sharp observations... refreshingly original -- Tom Boncza-Tomaszewski * Independent on Sunday *
Acutely and wittily observed -- Kate Saunders * The Times *
An entertaining take on the mores of contemporary society * Time Out *

Author Bio

Sabrina Broadbent's debut novel, Descent, won the W.H. Smith Raw Talent Award and her third novel, You Don't Have To Be Good, was published in 2009 by Chatto & Windus. She used to teach English at a comprehensive school in North London and now works with FILMCLUB, which works with teachers to set up and support free after-school film clubs in schools throughout the UK. She lives in London.